From Ærø to Iowa: Documenting the Journey of Danish Immigrants to Audubon and Shelby Counties in Iowa

The Bridge Volume 41 Number 2 Article 10 2018 From Ærø to Iowa: Documenting the Journey of Danish Immigrants to Audubon and Shelby Counties in Iowa Cynthia Larsen Adams Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge Part of the European History Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, and the Regional Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Adams, Cynthia Larsen (2018) "From Ærø to Iowa: Documenting the Journey of Danish Immigrants to Audubon and Shelby Counties in Iowa," The Bridge: Vol. 41 : No. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol41/iss2/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Bridge by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. From Ærø to Iowa | Cynthia Larsen Adams From Ærø to Iowa: Documenting the Journey of Danish Immigrants to Audubon and Shelby Counties in Iowa By Cynthia Larsen Adams Interior of a typical Danish Lutheran church on Ærø. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Larsen Adams. The island of Ærø lies southwest of Copenhagen, in the Baltic Sea. Just south of the city of Odense, it is connected to the mainland by fer- ries. Between 1850 and 1920, nearly two thousand of Ærø’s residents decided to immigrate to the United States. When the first emigrants left Ærø the island had three major port towns—Marstal, Ærøskøbing, and Søby. Marstal was well known for its shipbuilding, which made it a local economic power base, while Ærøskøbing was the chief town and primary port for ferry traffic. Aside from sailors, ship’s captains, and shipbuilders, most of the island’s residents were small landhold- ers, village tradespeople, and merchants. Until 1864 Ærø was part of 69 The Bridge 41:2 (Fall 2018) the duchy of Slesvig, but when Denmark was defeated by Prussia, the island was traded to the Danish king in exchange for some of his pos- sessions in what is today northern Germany. It officially became part of the kingdom of Denmark in 1867. Aside from a devastating flood in 1872, times were good for Ærø in the late nineteenth century. By 1893, the island’s merchant fleet was the second largest in the country, after Copenhagen, with 341 ships. Still, the lack of arable land for a grow- ing population drove young people off the island, to nearby cities and across the Atlantic. Seven churches, like the one pictured above, supplied the records for my research into emigration from Ærø: Søby, Bregninge, Tranderup, Ærøskøbing, Rise, Marstal and Ommel. each is a beautiful structure adorned with a typical Danish ship floating in the air above the congregation. Claus Jørgen Larsen was fifteen years old in July of 1889 when he left his home in Store Rise, Ærø, Denmark and immigrated to Iowa. Traveling with his uncle Ole Olesen, Claus sailed on the ship Hekla to New York and then on to Ole’s farm in Shelby County. Ole Olesen had first immigrated to Illinois in 1866 before moving to Shelby county in 1873. he was among the earliest Danish immigrants to that part of Iowa, which in future years would be known as “Little Denmark on the Prairie.” Since Claus had hired himself out to his uncle as an indentured servant, he spent his first years in America living in his uncle’s barn and working the fields until he had repaid his debt. Claus’ and Ole’s stories are among the 569 immigrant histories I have documented. This is the story of one specific area of Denmark that supplied immigrants to Audubon and Shelby counties in Iowa, which would eventually form the largest rural Danish settlement in the United States. My desire to research these immigrants’ stories was instilled by this young immigrant, Claus Jørgen Larsen, who eventually became my grandfather. The expansion of the United States brought about the establish- ment of the state of Iowa in 1846. Lying in the southwest quarter in the state, Audubon and Shelby counties were formed in 1851. The 1860 federal census documented immigrants moving into the area, but no people of Danish descent were among them. By the 1870 census, twenty-six Danes lived in Shelby County, but none had yet set- tled in Audubon County. The first Danish settlers, like many young 70 From Ærø to Iowa | Cynthia Larsen Adams The author’s grandfather, Danish immigrant Claus Jørgen Larsen, from Ærø. 71 The Bridge 41:2 (Fall 2018) immigrants of all nationalities, were employed by the railroads. In 1869 as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad began its progress across Iowa, a group of eight young Danes were laying track out of an area known as Marne, on the border between Shelby county and its southern neighbor, Cass County. These Danes were Ole h. Jacob- sen; Ole hansen; Lars Nielsen; Peter Nielsen; Christian Pedersen; Jens Simonsen; and brothers Mikkel, Rasmus, and Johannes Rasmussen. Three of the men were from the island of Møn, Denmark; one was from Aarhus, and the last four men were from Ærø. While in Marne, the men became aware of the opportunity to acquire land in Jackson township in Shelby county. Taking advantage of this chance, they pur- chased the land and thus set in motion the land acquisition and chain migration by Danish immigrants in what would eventually become the largest rural Danish settlement in the US. As the area developed, Danes came from all areas of Denmark, but the largest groups of Danes came from the islands of Ærø and Møn. Among the first land filings I found at the court house in har- lan, Iowa were the claims filed by the Rasmussen brothers on May 26, 1870. While I was not allowed to photograph these records, they include all the names of these railroad workers. The names of Johan- nes Jensen Kei and his wife also appear among these first land owners. Intrigued, I uncovered an interesting relationship between the Rasmussen brothers and Johannes Kei. Mrs. Johannes Kei was Marie Terkelsdatter Christensen Rasmussen Kei—mother to the three Ras- mussen brothers. Johannes and Marie Kei emigrated from hamburg, Germany May 13, 1874 on board the ship Herder. They apparently joined up with her sons as early land owners. Marie Kei is the old- est Ærø immigrant I have documented. Born in 1805 in Rise, she was married three times and widowed twice. She died in Shelby County in 1875. Following her death, her husband, born in 1819, sold a portion of his land and returned to Ærø. he sold his remaining land in Iowa in 1882. he remarried after returning to Ærø in 1877 and died in 1894. The Christensen Ranch Niels hansen Christensen was a prominent member of the Audubon County farming community who helped many of the young Danish immigrants settle into a new life in rural Iowa.h e and his wife 72 From Ærø to Iowa | Cynthia Larsen Adams were some of the very successful people in the community and had an interesting story, which begins with William G. Cameron, who came to this part of Audubon county in the 1870s. A native of Vermont, he had moved to Stark County, Illinois in the 1860s. Several landowners from Stark County moved into the Audubon County region in the early 1870s, and among them was Mr. Cameron. In 1874 William Cameron married elizabeth Grief of the nearby village of Manning. We will never know exactly when elizabeth was born as she, always a woman of mystery, kept her age her secret all her life, carrying that knowledge to her grave. even her cemetery stone has no birthdate. Together the Camerons became large landowners in Cameron Town- ship. William died in 1892, and elizabeth continued her role as land- owner and ranch manager. The 1880s brought many Danish immigrants into Cameron Town- ship. Included in that wave was Niels hansen Christensen. Niels was born October 13, 1863 to Peter and Kirsten Christensen in Rise, Ærø. Together with his brother, Niels sailed from Denmark on the ship Thingvalla and reached Audubon County in March 1887. Niels worked for several farmers in Cameron Township and then began to establish himself in the community with the purchase of many acres of land. On July 2, 1896, he and the widow elizabeth Cameron were married. This merger joined two wealthy landowners, both active in the business of farming, cattle and hog raising, and horse breeding. The new farm’s name, “Christensen Ranch,” tells us how prominent the Christensens were in their community. The individual agricultural operations in Iowa are referred to as “farms,” but the Christensen op- eration was so large, it merited the title of ranch. The Christensen Ranch became a destination for many “green- horn” immigrants. Both men and women were employed at the ranch. Niels and elizabeth offered a location where Danish immigrants were welcomed, where they could live for a period, be employed, begin to learn the english language, and then move on. They built a large home after their marriage, and it always required a household staff, which provided employment opportunities to single immigrant women. Niels had several nephews that immigrated to join their uncle, and many other people from the Rise area also immigrated. Maybe know- 73 The Bridge 41:2 (Fall 2018) ing your destination led to a person with ties back to Ærø lifted some anxiety from the immigrants. Another landmark of the Ranch was the mystical round barn which stood on the ranch for generations.

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